1949-'51 Fords

Dearborn's post-war redesign still looks fresh today

Buyer's Guide from Hemmings Motor News

Flathead-powered Fords from the early 1950s are an easy and affordable way to get into the collector car hobby with a well-styled car from a favorite era.
In the late 1940s, Ford could have produced just about anything that came out of its styling studios, slapped a "New!" banner over top of it and sold a million copies, just like all the other auto manufacturers. Such was the demand from the buying public at that time for anything that didn't resemble the reheated leftovers they'd been stuck with for the previous four years.
Ford put in extra hours on its 1949 models, but a corporate decision late in the development process gave the initial 1949 Ford design to Mercury and required a brand-new car to be generated from scratch. Despite the setback, Ford's designers still came through with a stunner, beating Chevrolet and Ply-mouth to the market with the first all-new, post-war design from the Big Three, securing Ford a sales leadership position as the 1950s dawned.
Of course, the design's good looks didn't hurt Ford's position in the sales race. Now, nearly 60 years later, this first generation of post-war Fords remains rather abundant, making it an excellent choice for first-time or budget-conscious collectors. Though not as widely supported in the aftermarket as their 1932-'40 predecessors, 1949-'51 Fords nonetheless remain simple and relatively inexpensive to restore and maintain.
Engines
Ford had won many hearts with its flathead V-8, so while Dearborn took an essentially blank-page approach to the aesthetics of the 1949 Ford, the company simply updated the engine powering it.
The three-main-bearing, 239 cu in V-8 retained the 6.8:1 compression ratio and 100hp rating it had since 1946. Yet the crab distributor walked away, replaced by a more conventional shaft-driven distributor, and Ford's engineers both improved cooling in the perpetually hot-running flathead and decreased oil consumption. Up top, a Holley Model AA-1 two-barrel carburetor replaced the Holley Model 94 two-barrel in use since 1946. Another carburetor change took place in 1951, with Ford's own Model 8BA two-barrel replacing the Holley.
Flathead engine blocks from this era have a tendency to crack. Finding and repairing those cracks often requires a complete engine teardown.
Then, as now, however, most people could see that the most glaring problem with the flathead V-8 was the horsepower rating of the base 226 cu in flathead six-cylinder. Just 5 horsepower separated the 95hp straight-six and the 100hp V-8. The six also out-torqued the eight, generating 180 lbs ft versus 156 lbs ft. And the six-cylinder did it all with a Holley 847F5 one-barrel carburetor, four main bearings and a 6.6:1 compression ratio (increased to 6.8:1 in 1950).
By 1949, Ford's engineers had even worked out one of the major inherent problems with the earliest flathead six-cylinders--a troublesome imbalance at about 4,500 RPM--by following camshaft grinder Clay Smith's advice to drill the crankshaft for increased oil flow to the rod bearings and to grind a new camshaft that takes the engine quickly past 4,500 RPM.
Don't rely on the 6 or the 8 emblem styled into the center portion of the grille to pinpoint the car's original engine. When decoding the serial number of a 1949 Ford, look in the third digit for an H to identify a six-cylinder car; a B in that position signals an eight-cylinder car. When decoding serial numbers for 1950 and 1951 Fords, the first digit indicates the engine, again with the H identifying six-cylinder cars and the B identifying eight-cylinder cars.
While going over the serial number, look for a P before the assembly plant code (third and fourth digits in 1950-'51 only), which indicates Ford built the
car for police departments with Mercury's 255 cu in 110hp version of the flathead V-8.
Transmissions and axle
Though GM and Chrysler had toyed with automatic or semi-automatic transmissions since the 1930s, Ford wouldn't offer its two-speed air-cooled Ford-O-Matic until 1951; until then, Ford buyers could choose only the three-speed manual transmission with a 2.819 first gear or a version of the three-speed that added a 0.70 overdrive gear, both synchronized only in second and third gears.
An open driveshaft, as opposed to the torque-tube driveshafts that Ford used through 1948, transmitted power to the rear axle, equipped with either standard 3.73 or optional 4.10 gears. (For those looking for a bit of extra punch, station wagons from this era came with 3.91 or 4.27 gears.)
Buyers who ordered up the overdrive automatically received 4.10 gears, but according to Ray Miller, writing in Ford: The Nifty Fifties, the overdrive could increase typical mileage from about 18 miles per gallon to 24 to 26 miles per gallon. Other sources say mileage could improve as much as 25 percent with the overdrive.
When buyers ordered the Ford-O-Matic, rear axle gears changed again, to 3.31 standard, 3.54 optional.
Suspension
Ford could finally dispense with the torque-tube driveshaft only because the company finally decided to dispense with the transverse leaf springs that it introduced more than 40 years prior, on the 1906 Model N.
The new independent front suspension included coil springs and A-arms, while the new rear suspension included seven parallel semi-elliptic leaf springs. Ford claimed that the new rubber bushings all around, along with rubber inserts between the leaf springs, reduced the need to grease the suspension.
Like most cars from the 1950s, if the original bushings are still on the car, which is true in many cases, they will be worn past their prime, with the rubber case hardened through the years. Thankfully, new reproduction bushings are available, and they are not difficult to change.
Brakes, Wheels and Tires
Ford's "Magic Action" hydraulic brakes put a brand-new name on a tried-and-true concept: four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes. When equipped with the straight-six, the drums measured 10 by 2 1/4 inches in front and 10 by 1 3/4 inches in the rear. In 1949 only, when equipped with the V-8, the car's rear drums widened to 10 by 2 1/4; inches. Later V-8 cars all used 10 by 1 3/4 inch drums in the rear, regardless of engine type. Replacement shoes, drums, wheel cylinders and all associated hardware are available new.
Stamped steel wheels represented the only wheel style available during these three years, though they varied in size slightly, came decorated in a few different styles, and came wrapped in several different sizes of tire. Standard in 1949 and 1950 were 16 by 4½-inch wheels with 6.00-16 blackwall tires, either four-ply or six-ply. Optional those two years, but standard in 1951, were 15 by 5-inch wheels with 6.70-15 blackwalls. (Station wagons came standard with 7.10-15 tires in 1949-'50.)
All tires could be upgraded to whitewalls, though the Korean War led to shortages of whitewall tires in 1951 and 1952, making blackwalls much more prevalent during those years.
Pie pan-style hubcaps with the company name stamped twice around the center circle decorated 1949-'50 wheels, while similarly shaped hubcaps with a single large F stamped in the center of the cap decorated 1951 wheels. Trim rings, an option on both DeLuxe and Custom trim levels, were commonly seen, but the optional full wheelcovers were not.
Body and frame
While the body and frame were all new, the 114-inch wheelbase remained on all body styles. Ford advertised the new designs as both safer and more comfortable, the latter thanks in part to wider front and rear seats.
For the most part, trim differences were what separated the less-expensive DeLuxe and the more expensive Custom lines. Chrome trim around the windows and a nameplate on the leading edge of the body-side molding identified Custom models all three years. DeLuxes had side trim, but no nameplate or window chrome, in 1949-'50; they made do without side trim, but with a small nameplate, in 1951.
Other than the crest versus the F-O-R-D lettering on the hood and trunklid, little distinguishes 1949 and 1950 Fords externally; 1951 Fords are easily identified by the twin nosecones versus the single nosecone on the 1949-'50 Fords.
Despite the lack of large-scale change for 1950, Ford advertised that it had implemented "50 improvements for 1950." This was less a marketing campaign than it was a damage-control measure; customers complained of dozens of quality problems with the 1949 Ford. "For at least the first six months, that car had more bugs than a Bowery flophouse," noted an article in SIA #139, January-February 1994. The author noted complaints about inadequate hood bracing, water leaks in the windshield and doors, knobs that fell clean off the dash, doors that didn't fit well at all and trunklids that popped open randomly. The "50 Ways New" campaign appeared to correct most of those problems.
These Fords rust in all the typical places: the bottom of the fenders, the bottom of the quarter panels, the rocker panels and the bottom of the doors.
Patch panels for commonly rusted areas are available from the aftermarket, but entire replacement panels are not. Used parts are still out there from salvage sources in dry parts of the country, used parts vendors and through enthusiast networks.
Interior
Look for front and rear bench seats or just a front bench seat in the business coupes. Standard upholstery used either broadcloth or mohair, though Ford made tan leather optional. DeLuxe interiors used a horn button and one sunvisor, while Custom interiors came standard with a horn ring, two sunvisors and a passenger assist strap on the interior B-pillar (in 1951, passengers finally got a standard sunvisor on all models).
Instruments were centered around the speedometer directly in front of the driver, leaving the rest of the panel rather plain until 1951, when Ford added some dash to its dash with a bright trim panel that extended two-thirds of the way across the dashboard and allowed for such features as the key-turned starter switch (as opposed to the push-button starter on 1949-'50 Fords) and the optional Vacu-Lite cigarette lighter (which took the first puff for you).
The ongoing popularity of the flathead makes mechanical restorations of these cars relatively simple, while the various long-established restoration parts suppliers like LeBaron Bonney and Dennis Carpenter Industries make it simple to track down interior and trim parts. The sheer numbers of these Fords mean they remain somewhat abundant in junkyards and as parts cars, though the numbers of available parts cars has rapidly dwindled.
And while the reproduction parts catalogs offer just about every item necessary for a restoration, any part not offered has probably been reproduced by the small cottage industry of enthusiasts, nearly all of whom are known to members of the Early Ford V-8 Club.
This story originally appeared in the November 2008 issue of Hemmings Classic Car.
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